In The Shadows
by Equistar
Summary: Danzo is often viewed as a villain. But what led him to that point?
1. In The Shadows

_.:A/N: This is something I wrote for English class, the assignment being to write a creative piece in modern context for a certain scene in Othello in which you capture the essence of Shakespeare's meaning. So I couldn't be totally creative in my writing since I had to abide by the context of the work. I wish I could've explored more of Danzo's feelings and whatnot –mushy gushy. This seems kind of descriptive for a fanfic, kind of like a retelling of the plot. But this was for my English teacher, who doesn't know the Narutoverse, hence would have been extremely confused. Also the reason why there is a word key at the bottom. Still I feel the need to post this, just to get some feedback. So enjoy!:._

**In the Shadows**

_Iago's story, up to date, is one of deception and treachery. But it holds a certain aspect of sorrow to it for having been cheated. Although Shakespeare designs Iago to act as the main villain of the plot, within Iago's monologues holds the desolation of a man who only wants what he believes is best. As such, I instantly recalled a character of similar nature and story from one of my most favorite mangas. Hence, this could be called fanfiction, but one that I hope captures the essence of __Othello__'s Iago..._

He was not the one to step forward. Never had he been able to take that place in the front lines for all to witness. Years ago, he would have called himself out as a coward. Now it was his duty. Certainly there would be murmurs of suspicion at this shaded face, and he could not allow for such speculation to occur. It would not do for his cause. He was after all reputed for serving Konoha1 dutifully. So he remained in the shadows, like any good shinobi2 should, waiting and watching.

His time would come; it should have come. The previous Hokages'3 beliefs had destroyed the village. He had the power, the experience and foremost, the knowledge, to lead the village into a new age. Despite his reputation as a war hawk, he sought peace for the ninja world, one he would achieve by uniting all shinobi forces under Konoha's control. As such, he sought the title of Hokage, waiting patiently for decades before an opportunity arose. And she was chosen.

Tsunade was an extremely irritating woman. Her monstrous strength and sense of righteousness had the potential of ruining his plans. Under her leadership, no longer could he act as freely in the shadows. She had her suspicions of him and he attempted to remain inconspicuous. Had he not influenced the council as such, his entire objective would have been jeopardized. So he took advantage of the situation, spreading one of his branches out into the light, in the public view.

Team 7 was popular in Konoha, composed of the increasingly powerful Kyuubi Jinchuuriki4, the Hokage's own apprentice and distinguished medic-nin5, and led by one of the most powerful ninja in the village, the infamous Copy-nin. But they were down one member, and that's where Sai came into play. Sai was one of his best, an emotionless, moldable, manipulated pawn. But it was on their first mission together as team Yamato (who lead the mission at the time) that his faithful spy was unsuccessful in being rid of the problem.

He had tried to be rid of the nuisance long ago. After the Demon Fox's attack only a few years ago, he was one of the elders to suspect that the Uchiha clan was involved in the incident and supported relocating them for easy monitoring. But as word reached of a planned coup d'état, things could not be settled there. And so, he took advantage of young Uchiha Itachi's pacifist tendencies. The entire clan was massacred in a single night. But one remained. This one threat to his plans.

All those years ago, he was not the one to step forward. His team was being pursued by enemy nin and it was soon realized that one of them would need to distract their pursuers. Whoever did so would die. He hoped to die for his companions, just as his father and grandfather had before him. It would be a noble death for a just cause. He couldn't move. He was afraid, truly afraid for the first time in his life, at the prospect of death. But before he could compose himself, 'he' volunteered.

Hiruzen Sarutobi was a friend, despite the feeling of inferiority. With Hiruzen having beaten him to the position of Hokage, it was then that he began planning to someday attain the title himself. To that end, he created the Anbu subsidiary named Root6. With this secret organization under his complete control, he could carry out deeds that would benefit Konoha. He used Root to eliminate potential threats to Konoha with or without the consent of the Hokage and to further him along the path to achieving that rank, for he was best prepared for the necessary transition. But because of the nature of some of these less than respectable actions, he could not allow the details of what he had done to become public knowledge, and thus he branded members of Root with cursed seals to prevent them from revealing his secrets. Although his group had been disbanded later, it remained secretly active. Secrecy was his priority, and so he and those that served him moved only in darkness.

He had changed drastically in a short period of time, one action being the cause of a counteraction. It seemed like just the other day that he was a hotheaded and eager young ninja with a strong desire to prove himself. That conviction was unchanged. But, like the Root members that served under him, he did not allow his emotions to surface, remaining a calm and collected individual despite the pressures upon him. He could not risk losing his façade. And his efforts were soon to be realized.

A knocking resounded on the makeshift piece of wood left to hold up his temporary base.

"Enter."

"Danzo-sama. The escort team is ready for departure."

"Then we leave immediately."

As the Root member withdrew, Danzo spared another glance at the landscape before exiting the encampment.

In the aftermath of Pein's invasion, the Hokage Mountain still stood tall above the rubble. He marveled at the irony of the Hokage's faces looking down upon the results of their so-called ideals. But their destruction was his victory. The interests of the village should be placed above all else, even ethics and morals. Shinobi must sacrifice absolutely everything for the sake of the village. After all, he had. He feared death. But he needed to live in order to help the world accustom itself to his ideas for peace. And so, he worked in the shadows to ensure that his future came to fruition.

And now he was in power. After years of waiting and plotting in the background, he could finally directly implement his conviction upon the world. And the first task would be to dispose of the nuisance himself. It was a loose snag that had yet to be fixed, small but a threat to the entire fabric of his conspiracy. The massacre had only created this new problem, Sai's assassination attempt had failed and the previous Hokage had fiercely opposed any action. He would simply have to finish the job. Sasuke Uchiha's hatred and violence against Konoha was a waste of the Uchiha clan's sacrifice and his brother's own personal sacrifices. His betrayal to the village went against everything shinobi stood for. Against everything Danzo stood for. As Danzo had said to Sai after the mission, "Emotion brings hatred, and hatred brings war". To eliminate the threat to his now graspable peace, he would finally emerge from the shadows. He would take that step.

_1 Konoha: the ninja village in which the story revolves_

_2 Shinobi: synonym for ninja_

_3 Hokage: leader of Konoha_

_4 Kyuubi Jinchuuriki: Demon fox container_

_5 Medic-nin: ninja that specializes in healing_

_6 Root: a subdivision of ninja designed to carry out his orders_

_A final note: In the manga, Danzo faced Sasuke only a few days later. He was killed._

_If Iago were to eventually step forth from the shadows, would his fate be the same?_

A/N:

Iago: Aha! You have fallen into my evil trap! You see Othello, everything was planned out by me. T'was my doing. Aren't I ingenious? Vengeance is mine!

Othello: -_- …Guards, kill him.

Iago: Wai- What? Noooooooooooo!

Equistar: FAIL


	2. Author's Note

Sup. So this isn't an addition to this story because it's obvious that it was only meant to be a one-shot. However, I feel I should add on to it here because I finished _Othello_ a few months ago, which is what the Danzou's story is based on.

Furthermore, I'd like to note that I realize this story sort of fails as a fanfiction because it only really explains the back-story of the canon rather than creates something new (which I know is what people come on here for). I want to point out that this was intentional as I wanted to highlight Danzou's actions to parallel that of Iago's. Looking back on it though, I wish I could have gone down on a more emotion level. But at the time that I wrote this, I was only about a third into _Othello_ so I didn't even really completely understand Iago and his emotional complex.

But I finished the play! Yay! I didn't like it as much as I had hoped. The beginning was good as well as the climax, but by the time the story reached it's end, it all seemed pretty typical and unsatisfying. And this is where I come to *SPOILERS*. So if you haven't read Othello yet and don't want for me to _spoil_ the plot and ending, stop right here, mister (or missus)!

**SPOILERS**SPOILERS**SPOILERS**

I WAS RIGHT! HAHA! Well, sort of. In a twisted kind of way. Who knew my writing of fanfiction would actually lead me on? As you'll recall (if you've read my story that is), at the end, I put an author's note of sorts asking whether or not if Iago revealed himself in the end, would he face the same demise as Danzou? Because it was when Danzou's true intentions were revealed to Sasuke (and the others I guess) that he got killed (by Sasuke -laaaaaaaame). But then again, whenever we see a character's flashback in Naruto, he is sure to die. (Are you sur-?) **Sure to die.** But in Othello, it didn't happen in the way I prophesied in the author's notes (the actual one). Iago did in the end reveal himself, but by that time, Desdemona was dead and Othello killed himself out of regret (or some honorable s*** like that). Iago didn't die (thank the lord -I love that guy!) but he was arrested and I assume will be executed or something.

So despite the ending not being like I theorized -(lol you fail) Shuddup, parenthesis!- I still find Iago and Danzou to be extremely similar in their actions (though Iago was fueled more by spite than I think Danzou was). They both worked in the shadows (hence the name of my story) by pretending to be something they were not, they both used manipulation to steer the action towards their objective, they both had 'subordinates' working willingly under them to infiltrate (Emilia and Sai), they both had some form of small jealousy that planted the seed and grew into conniving plans, and in the end their immoral actions were revealed. I'm sure there's more, but then I'd just be rambling.

**END OF SPOILERS**END OF SPOILERS**END OF SPOILERS**

So that's all I wanted to say about that. I didn't get any reviews (understandable) but I did get 63 hits so far, which I think is saying something. There aren't a whole lot of people who when scrolling down the new Naruto fanfiction stories list will see my story and be like "Ooh, a story about Danzou! Awesome! I love that guy!". Well audience, I like him too. He's pretty chill. Even with Sharingan implanted in his arm. And a giant pet tapir. Respect. Peace out! (you know you're not cool) Shuddup, parenthesis! They don't know that!


End file.
